Many animals happily ignore the gentle opossum, and there have been many reports of pet cats making friends with neighborhood opossums. Their natural enemies, though, are foxes, coyotes, dogs, bobcats, and owls. But even more than these natural predators, their greatest enemy in the modern world is the automobile.

Mountain lions, wolves, bobcats, coyotes and golden eagles are predators of bighorn sheep. Eagles have been known to prey upon lambs, but they are unable to kill adult bighorn. Predation is usually not a problem for healthy bighorn populations; however, when bighorn are supressed by other factors, predation can limit recovery and potentially drive a population to extinction.

Several species are known to prey on caribou. Wolves prey on caribou throughout the year, but most frequently in the winter. Bears prey on caribou during spring, summer and fall. Golden eagles take young calves during the early summer, and lynx are able to kill calves in the fall when caribou migrate into forested areas. When snow is deep, wolverines are sometimes able to kill caribou. Humans have hunted caribou for many thousands of years.

Great white sharks are the primary predator in California. Ongoing studies in Alaska recently revealed that orcas (killer whales) are eating more and more sea otters in that region, possibly because the usual prey (seals and sea lions) are in decline. Other factors that may be influencing the orcas to eat more sea otters may include natural disturbances to the ecosystem that occur over space and time, as well as overfishing.

The opossum is an introduced marsupial that arrived in California in the early 1900's. Equipped with short legs, opposable thumb on the hind foot, and a prehensile tail allows the opossum to navigate almost all types of habitat within our county. This well adapted omnivore is commonly found as road kill mostly due to its movement pattern at night and its slow rate of speed.

Opossums are not picky eaters and will consume almost anything, including table scraps and carrion. They do seem to have a particular fondness for cat food, however, especially the tinned varieties. Their normal diet consists of carrion, rodents, insects, frogs, and plants including fruits and grains.

Birds - particularly woodpeckers - enjoy feasting on mountain pine beetles. Beetle larvae can also be susceptible to some parasites and insect predators. However, the current epidemic is far beyond the level at which the beetle’s natural enemies can be much help in B.C.’s battle against the beetle.

The world on the twenty-first century is a civilized one, governed by law and custom, but with the predator/prey relationship between species an accepted part of life. Predators are expected to curb their appetites around their herbivorous co-workers (Smelly Johnson takes pride in fostering this attitude at the Skunkworks). However, Nature still rules. A fox can take down a rabbit if provoked. Jenny thinks it's funny that Jack would have a friend who's a mouse.

Great white sharks and killer whales (Orcas) prey on elephant seals as well as other marine life. Great whites attack from below with most attacks occurring near the surface. If the bite is superficial, the seal may escape. Sometimes you can see e-seals with scars showing they had a near-miss encounter with a shark. Predation by orcas has been documented less frequently.

Opossums will sometimes try to eat small critters such as mice, reptiles, amphibians, and even young kittens if other food is scarce. They will leave most larger animals alone and, in fact, are more likely to be harmed by a dog or full-grown cat than they are to inflict injury on them. They will rarely fight, despite putting up a fearsome display if threatened, and most likely will simply attempt to flee or play dead.

Unlike most wild animals, opossums are highly resistant to rabies. It is extremely rare to encounter a rabid opossum, though if bitten or scratched by one, it is nevertheless advisable to see a physician immediately. Any opossum that would behave in such an uncharacteristic fashion must be assumed to be rabid.

Opossums do not hibernate. Their greatest challenge during winter, especially in colder climates, is simply to survive. Very often opossums will alter their foraging habits during winter, coming out during the day when it is warmer rather than at night. It is not uncommon for opossums in northern regions to suffer frostbite during extremely cold periods. Their tails are particularly susceptible to frostbite as they have no fur covering to protect them.

Wholly natural. Brewer's yeast may be the best source of the vitamin-B complex, so Marmite is rich with natural vitamin-B, as well as riboflavin and niacin.

In its 1982 study, the National Academy of Sciences found “annual rates of increase of 10% or less” in wild horse populations, a far cry from the 20% increase relied upon by the BLM to justify its removal program. Wild horses do have predators, in the form of mountain lions and bears. In 2004 for instance, only 1 out of 28 foals survived in Montana’s Pryor Mountain area. Such low survival rate was mostly due to mountain lion predation.

Male opossums are called jacks, and females are called jills. (Sound familiar?) The young are referred to as joeys, just like their Australian cousins. A group of opossums is called a passel.

Generally speaking, no. But there are exceptions. Animals are like people in that no two are alike. Some people have kept opossums as pets and enjoyed their company very much. Usually the best pets are those rescued when very young. A full-grown opossum will rarely adapt well to captivity. As a rule, however, keeping opossums as pets is not recommended. You also should check your local and state or provincial laws to be sure whether it is legal to do so in your area before attempting this.

The range of the opossum seems to be ever expanding. They can be found in almost every state in the U.S. (excepting some of the arid regions), portions of Mexico, and in several Canadian provinces (including as far north as Toronto). They also inhabit urban as well as rural areas. It would appear that their capacity for expansion is almost limitless.

All sex offenders that meet Nebraska's registry's requirements are required to register, including individuals that have been declared sexually violent predators by the court. Sexually violent predators are required to register a minimum of 10 years and remain registered until the court determines the person no longer suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder that makes the person likely to engage in a sexually violent offense.

A sexually violent predator is a person who has been convicted of one or more of the offenses requiring registration and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality disorder, making them likely to commit sexually violent offenses for the purpose of victimization. An offender can only be determined a sexual violent predator by the sentencing court after considering evidence from experts on behavior and treatment of sexual offenders.

You can minimize predation by starlings, jays and kestrels by using nest boxes that are approved by the North American Bluebird Society. In the Willamette Valley, we recommend that nest boxes have an entrance hole that is 1 ½" in diameter. This is too small to admit the larger birds. The nest boxes need to have sufficient depth below the entrance hole to keep these birds from reaching eggs or chicks by sticking their heads into the nest box.